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999 bus route
I have travelled on this service several times, it is wonderful and I trust it will be patronised enough to continue after the trial period.
There is a very long distance from the Mahurangi College stop to Summerset Village on Mansel Drive – what is the possibility of a stop in Woodcocks Road, opposite the access road to Mitre 10, and before turning in to Mansel Drive? This would provide more convenient pedestrian access to Morrison Drive and it’s numerous businesses.
I realise it is an impossibility at present, however, what chance is there to have the bus going via Glenmore Drive so it gives easier access for people to Tui House and Rodney Surgical Centre? If the carpark is ever created on the vacant land in Glenmore Drive, and if the bus service continues after its trial period, this could be a thought for the future.
A dream, but probably an impossibility, is to have a stop somewhere closer to Hill Street intersection, for those wanting to get in to town without having to the travel the tedious loop out to the transport hub and back again. Any thoughts on future planning along these lines ?
Christine Frost, Warkworth
Rodney Local Board chair Brent Bailey responded: We are pleased with the patronage of the route 999 Warkworth loop bus and have asked Auckland Transport to investigate options to make it even more useful to residents and visitors, including a new stop near Warkworth Primary School. Auckland Transport will continue to monitor the demand and changing land use in the area and investigate changes such as a new stop on Woodcocks Road, when appropriate.
Auckland Transport has advised that a route diversion down Glenmore Drive and Morrison Drive would increase the catchment but that would increase the journey time for all other users, lessening the appeal of the service. In addition, the bus route currently runs on a 30-minute timetable using a single vehicle, so route extensions may require either a reduction in frequency, or the addition of another bus at significant additional cost.
AT experiment
Thank you for the piece by Cr Sayers (MM, Oct 14). I certainly agree with most of its analysis of the “failed experiment”, as the deputy prime minister has labelled the Auckland Transport CCO [Council Controlled Organisation], and his intention to legislate it out of existence.
It’s also good to get a sense that current Auckland councillors seem to agree with him.
Among Auckland Transport’s many sins is its propensity to pay its executives eye-watering salaries and bonuses effectively for failure. I hate to imagine how much it would cost ratepayers if AT was actually a successful operator.
Sayers says that a difficulty associated with an in-house provider was the risk of repeating the situation where “past regional councillors were squabbling over projects”.
While I was deputy chair of the Auckland Regional Council’s transport committee, under the council chairmanship of Mike Lee, I never once witnessed councillors “squabbling over competing projects”.
In fact, their cooperation with each other and with the ARC’s in-house agency ARTA in handling the gargantuan task of Auckland’s passenger rail system was truly a credit to local government in Auckland.
As a result, I doubt that Mayor Brown needs to lose any sleep over the possibility of such an outcome occurring on his watch.
Brent Morrissey, Te Arai
Duck tales
In a chaotic world, the tale of Tom the Duck and his unfortunate plight was just the tonic needed (Warkworth Vets advert, MM, Oct 28)! Thank you to the caring people who helped restore Tom to his former glory.
Go Tom, go!
Pam Ellender, Warkworth
